Who We Are

The Loomba Foundation was founded by Lord Raj Loomba CBE and his wife Veena, Lady Loomba. It was established in the UK as a charitable Trust Deed on 26 June 1997 and has sister charities registered in India and the USA. The inspiration came from Raj’s late mother, Shrimati Pushpa Wati Loomba, who became a widow at the early age of 37 and succeeded in educating her seven young children single-handed.

Objectives and Activities

The Foundation is constituted by Trust Deed and its objectives and aims are to promote the welfare and economic empowerment of disadvantaged widows and education of their children. The Foundation currently makes grants to its sister charity in India, the Shrimati Pushpa Wati Loomba Memorial Foundation, to fulfill its aforesaid aims and the sister charity distributes funds which support widows and their children in India. In addition, the Trustees have agreed to promote the fundamental freedoms and human rights of widows and their children around the world through advocacy.

Launches

The Foundation was officially launched in London on 25 March 1998 in the presence of the Prime Minister, The Rt. Hon. Tony Blair MP and his wife Cherie Blair CBE QC. The Foundation also received the support of the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee, who inaugurated the Foundation in New Delhi on 31 March 1999, by lighting a ceremonial lamp at his residence. The ceremony was attended by Sir Rob Young GCMC, British High Commissioner to India.

The Loomba Foundation launched in London in 1998 in the presence of Prime Minister Rt Hon Tony Blair

President of the Loomba Foundation

Cherie Blair CBE QC, wife of the former British Prime Minister, who became the first Patron of the Foundation in 1998, agreed to become the President and officially inaugurated Loomba House in London on 8 September 2004 in the presence of the Indian High Commissioner, His Excellency Kamalesh Sharma. Over the years, Cherie has continued to travel to various countries to attend the Foundation’s events in order to raise awareness of the plight of widows and their children around the world.

Cherie Blair with widows in Mumbai

Patron-in-Chief

Sir Richard Branson agreed to become Patron-in-Chief in 2004. He has attended the Foundation’s fundraising events in India and South Africa. He has also supported the Foundation by making an appeal on BBC Radio 4 in 2004. He raised over £500,000 through three ‘Change for Children’ appeals on the Virgin Atlantic flights worldwide. The Loomba Foundation is the only charity to have been supported three times by Virgin Atlantic.

Sir Richard Branson launches the Loomba Foundation in Johannesburg in South Africa in 2006

Patrons

The Loomba Foundation is honoured that it is supported by the UK Prime Minister Rt. Hon. David Cameron MP, Deputy Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Nick Clegg MP, Countess Mountbatten of Burma and Baroness Betty Boothroyd OM as Patrons, amongst many other senior politicians, dignitaries, celebrities and business leaders.

Honourees

The Loomba Foundation has honoured Mrs. Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States, Mr. Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, Yoko Ono, widow of Beatle John Lennon, Ms. Rachel Mayanja, secretary to the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Raj Nooyi, husband of Indra Noori, and Mrs. Renuka Chowdhury, Union Minister for Ministry of Women and Child Development at the International Widows Day events in New York, USA.

The First Lady Laura Bush invites Lord & Lady Loomba for a private lunch at the White House in Washington DC along with Cherie Blair, 2007.

We need support

To date, The Loomba Foundation has educated over 10,000 children of poor widows and supported over 60,000 of their family members across 29 states in India. In addition, our empowerment programmes offer equipment, skills training and business advice for widows to gain economic independence.

INTERNATIONAL WIDOWS DAY

International Widows Day, the annual global day of action to highlight the desperate plight of millions of widows all over the world, was launched by The Loomba Foundation in 2005 and following a five-year campaign was adopted unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010. International Widows Day takes place every year on 23 June.